The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-01-30
OUR GROVES AND FARMS.

Rich In F'IOrida-A Self-SuppOrt
ing Home A mong the Groves The
History Made by q Life of Work.
ITS REWARD.
In our drives around Seville to learn
something of home life in the back
woods" we are especially interested in
the place Of Layton E. Causey. 1t is
now only few miles from one Of the
most iourishing towns in the State, and
near the great trunk line of the j.. T.
& X. w. Railway, but the fuller life
brought by these improvements has
all come within the past two years.
after his work had been accomplished
and he had prepared himself for sitting
with folded hands under his own vine
and fig tree. So that in truth and fact,
his home was made while in the woods,
and its formation is an illustration of
what any man with his pluck and
strength could have done in Florida.
Mr.. Causey owns about three hundred
acres, One-third of which is high ham
mock and the rest rolling pine land. He
settled here eighteen years ago, and has
never been a convert to the idea that a
summer vacation was necessary to
health, and has therefore been absent
only for a short time at long intervals.
His family as well as himself has been
thoroughly healthy, and his children.
who have been BORN on the place, show
that the life he leads is favorable to tie
development of mind and body.
Here more attention has always been
given t. farming than fruit culture, al
though the groves now on the estate,
bring in a large revenue, which is always
n surplus crop. There is "A mile frontage
on Lower Lake Louise, whose sparkling
waters and beautiful beaches of white
sand furnish a welcome rest to the eye
wearied with the contemplation of SOL
emn pines and stately oaks " hich inclose
with loving arms it's liquid loyeliness.
The grove was set thirteen years ago and
is now in full bearing. Ii is on pine land
and has never had an ounce of CONNER
cIal fertilizer although his cows are often
penned on il. IL is entirely free from
insects or disease, and from all the trees
% would probably be impossible to cut
"A bushel of dead twigs. Ii has been pro-
ducinR freely and abundantly for years,
and. save by the freeze Of last winter,
No part of the crop has ever been lost.
On his hammock the evidences of care.
and thrift are more interesting bscause
the operations of farming in Florida are
less carefully studied and less patent to
the eye. Here Florida sand" produces
from twenty to thirty bushels of corn to
the acIe-here all things necessary to the
support Of his large stock of cattle and
horses, AZ well as of his family, are pro-
duced. and the net result in syrup and
sugar is as certain as that of the grove.
BESIDES corn, potatoes, cotton, pumpkins
and all varieties of garden sass" Mr.
t'ausey makes his own hay, and the har-
vest from this source gives the place at
one season the appearance Of Western
rancho. NJ king hay under the blazing
sun of our summers is done not only be-
cause it is the proper thing to do as a
matter of economy, but because also it
Is held that the product is far superior to
most of that sold in the State.
Each of his crops might be- indefinitely
increased by corresponding increase of
labor and capital, or his unoccupied
la might be cut up into smaller farms
10 the advantage of all concerned. but
Mr.. Causey feels himself able to rest
now. and he is enjoying the fruits of his
labor surrounded by the love and respect
Of all who know him. In all the State
there is no place more worthy Of q visit
from those who are an xious to see how
we live, as well as Ito do a fashionable
winter resort. Can any farmer in any
State show better net result for eighteen
years of labor without capital than our
neighbor Lay ton f. Causey?